Happy Birthday Kimberly

Twenty-nine years ago we took to the street. The doctor told us to go home and walk. There would be no delivery on April 24, 1985.

Every young parent-to-be, especially mother-to-be, does not want to be told, “Not today.” It is among the first occasions where the young husband is told, “But I know my body! I know how I feel.” Who could argue with that? I did not.

We got up the next day to see the doctor. The same doctor who had delivered me nearly twenty-two years earlier. Yes, even the same doctor who delivered my mother. I think. You could say he knew pregnant women well. Despite what a woman knows, she has not been pregnant before. So, while she may know her body, she has no previous experience on which to depend. Dr. Ridgeway said to go walk.

We took to the street. We walked the familiar streets of my childhood. We lived in a little duplex not far from where I grew up. Patty worked as a Teacher’s Aid working with hearing impaired children. I was about to graduate from college. Studying for Finals would take a back seat to walking. And, walk we did.

KJ2014Those pesky pains returned and we made another trip to the hospital. This time Patty said, “I am not going home!” We did not for about five days as Dr. Ridgeway still believed it was better for the new Mom to have a bit of rest after delivery. After checking her blood pressure and the contractions it was determined this would be the day. But, it would not be too soon. We waited. We waited. Then, about 7:20 p.m., or so, I got to walk out and announce we had a little girl!

We did not know we wold have a girl. Dr. Ridgeway guessed that it would be. I think he based that on the heart rate. Yes, that is old school to be sure. I have often been asked what we wanted, a boy or a girl. We wanted a baby. We assumed we would have a boy because Littleton’s generally have boys. I remember, though, that many in our family wanted girls so the saying went,  “In the Littleton family it takes a man to have a girl.” That meant it was easy to have boys. You know good and well how I took the sight of that little brown-eyed girl!

Today we will have lunch and spend it with Kimberly and her two boys, which are our two boys too, Craig (husband) and Cohen (son).

Happy Birthday Kimberly!

About the Author
Husband to Patty. Daddy to Kimberly and Tommie. Grandpa Doc to Cohen, Max, Fox, and Marlee. Pastor to Snow Hill Baptist Church. Graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Reading. Photography. Golf. Colorado. Jeeping. Friend. The views and opinions expressed here are my own and should not be construed as representing the corporate views of the church I pastor.

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